Cabinet door molding strip



March 31, 1959 E. STEFAN CABINET DOOR MOLDING STRIP 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed March 15, 1955 -Fig./

Fig.3

1N VEN TOR EJwin 6'21: an

BY QLWA C. Wei

March 31, 1959 Filed March 15, 1955 E.STEFAN CABINET DOOR MOLDING STRIP2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 5

Edwin .Sle fan INVENTOR aqz United States Patent 2,879,560 CABINET DOORMOLDING STRIP Edwin Stefan, Chicago, Ill. Application March 15, 1955,Serial No. 494,398 1 Claim. (CI. 20-74) This invention relatesto'irnprovements in moldings for doors and the like and is particularlydirected to an improved molding strip for the edge face of a cabinetdoor.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a one piece strip whichis adapted to be secured to the edge face of a cabinet door so as toprotect and rigidify the edge face and adjacent portions of the innerand outer sides of the door and which has an integral stop flange thatarrests the door in a closed position.

Another object of this invention is to provide a molding strip for acabinet door which is set into an opening in the wall of the cabinet,the strip serving to enhance the appearance of the door and to blend itin flush with the wall.

A further object of this invention is to provide a one-piece door edgemolding strip which is channel shaped in cross-section so as to fit overthe edge face of the door and adjoining portions of the sides, in facialcontact therewith, and which has a stop flange on one leg portion, thestop flange serving to blend the door in with the wall and to arrest thedoor in a closedposition.

Another object of this invention is to provide a channel shaped strip ora strip formable into channel shape which has a web portion providedwith integral laterally extending tangs that embed in the face edge of adoor and attach the strip thereto.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a strip whichis easily and simply secured to edge faces of various widths without theuse of any fasteners, such as nails, screws and the like.

The foregoing and ancillary objects of this invention are attained bythis invention, the preferred forms of which are set forth in thefollowing description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a cabinet in which the doors areprovided with molding strips, in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the strip per se;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the strip and is taken on line 3-3of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of a cabinet in which the door isprovided with a modified form of molding strip;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the modified form of molding strip;

Fig. 6 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the edge of the door andcross-sectional view of the strip, shown applied thereto, and is takenon line 66 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the edge of the door, similar toFig. 6, with a modified form of strip shown in cross-section; and,

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the strip of Figs. 4-6.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings andinitially to Figs. l-3, the numeral 10 generally designates a cabinet,which while shown as a floor mounted type, may be of the wall mountedtype Patented Mar. 31, 1959 or any other orthodox type. The cabinetincludes a front wall 12, which is formed with at least one opening 14,in which a door 16 is mounted. The door 16 is hinged in a suitablemanner by inset, hidden hinges (not shown) to one edge or bounding wallof the opening so that it seats within the opening and is flush with theexterior of the front wall. The front wall, at the opening, provides aframing for the door and the purpose of this invention is to provide amolding strip. 18, which will trim the door, rigidify it, enhance the,

appearance thereof, blend it in with the front wall and provide a stoptherefor. The strip 18 is initially in the form of a long section and ismade from any suitable flexible material, such as plastic, tin or thelike.

The strip 18 is channel shaped in cross-section and,

has a flat web portion 20 which is adapted to be secured in facialcontact with the edge face 22 of the door. The web portion is slightlywider than the thickness of the door and has integral leg portions 24and 26 at its side edges. The leg portions are flat and disposedparallel. The leg portion 24 constitutes the inner leg portion and isadapted to be disposed in face to face contact with the inner side 28 ofthe door, adjacent the edge face 22. The leg portion 26 defines theouter leg portion and is adapted to be disposed in face to face contactwith the outer side 30 of The leg portion 26 has a stop flange 32 formedintegral therewith and with the web portion. flange extends coplanarwith the leg portion in an opposite direction therefrom and is laterallyextended from the web portion. abut the outer face or exterior of thefront wall, as shown in Fig. 3, to arrest the door and locate it in aclosed position. The stop flange is preferably of the same width as theleg portion 26 and is, of course, of the same thickness. By being of thesame width, the inset appearance of the door is strikingly increased.

The web portion is provided with integral V-shaped attaching barbs ortangs 34, which are struck out laterally from the material of the webportion and are formed in spaced fashion, as shown in Fig. 2. The tangsare disposed parallel with and between the leg portions and are adaptedto be embedded in the edge face 22 of wall of the opening. The strip isfitted over the edge face and bent around the sides and top and bottomof the edge face, with the leg portions sliding over and engaging theopposite sides of the door and the tangs being forced into the edge faceof the door. It is preferred that the front face of the cabinet frontwall and the outer side of the door he covered with a plastic sheet, thedoor and cabinet walls being preferably formed from plywood.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 4-6 and 8, a modified form ofmolding strip 36 is shown, wherein the strip, made from flexiblematerial, is manufactured and dispensed in elongated form and includesan elongated body portion having a T-shaped transverse cross-sectionalshape. The body portion includes a head portion 38 which is convex onits outer surface and which defines a clamping leg 40 and a door stopflange 42. The inner surface of the head which defines such elements isshaped so that the leg and the stop flange are sloped inwardly towardthe shank 44 of the T-shaped strip. The shank 44 is tapered outwardlyand terminates in a free side edge 46 which is beveled or rounded off atthe outer surface 48 of the shank. The inner surface 50 of the shank isflat.

The shank is provided with longitudinally extending score or foldgrooves 52 and 53, which are provided, adjacent the outer side edge 46,on the surface 50. While the door, adjacent the edge face 22.

The stop The stop flange is adapted to two such spaced apart score orfold grooves are shown, more may be provided, dependent upon the widthof the shank.

The shank is bent about one of such grooves, the grooveselected beingdependent upon the Width of the door, to provide a channel shaped doorclamping element, the shank forming the web and the leg portion of thechannel in complement with the leg 40, defined by the head.

The free side portion of the shank is bent onto the rear face of thedoor 52 to form the clamping leg portion 54 which, with the leg 40,secures the strip on the door about the edge face 56 thereof, the webdefining portion of the shank being in facial contact with the edge faceof vthe door.

The outer edge of the leg 40 bears against the front face of the doorand is drawn tightly thereagainst by the bending of the clamping legportion 54 onto the rear face of'the door.

In thelmodified form of molding strip 36a, shown in Fig. 7, the channelweb defining portion of the shank 44a is provided with integrally formedtangs 58 which extend laterally from the shank and parallel to the legportion 540] and are adapted to be driven into the edge face 56a of thedoor. The tangs are preferably extended integrally with the strip.

In attaching the strip 36a, the shank is held over the edge face withthe leg 40a engaging the outer face of the door and the tangs areslightly driven into the edge face. The leg portion 54a is then bentover, at one of the grooves, dependent upon the width of the door, andthe tangs are driven completely home with the shank abutting the edgeface. The leg portion 54a is then compressed tightly against the rearface of the door.

With any of the forms of the invention, it can be appreciated that thestrips can be easily and quickly applied to the edge face of a door andthat the strip reenforces and decorates the edge face, provides a doorstop, which will not mar the cabinet wall, enables the door to be insetand blends the door in with the cabinet wall, while adding to theoverall appearance of the front wall of the cabinet.

By the use of the molding described, it eliminates the building of aframe usually practiced in cabinet making. By the use of this molding,when a door is cut out of the panel, the cut-out becomes the door andthe remainder of the panel becomes the frame. The moldings describedbecome a door frame, a door stop, door edging and a door sealer (thesealing of a door makes it warpproof).

While the best known forms of and environment for this invention havebeen described in the foregoing and illustrated in the drawings, otherforms and environments may be realized as come within the scope of theinvention, defined by the appended claim.

I claim:

A molding strip for the edge of a door in a door opening in a cabinet orthe like, said strip being formed in lengths to fit around the edges ofa door and formed from deformable metal material, said strip including asubstantially tapered thin main body portion adapted to be superposed onthe edge surface of a door; said body portion having a transverse headformed with an arcuate outer surface and two flanges extending one oneither side of the main body portion, one of said flanges overlying theface of said door and the other flange extending outwardly from the edgeof said door, to form a stop for said door by abutment with the edge ofthe door opening, the inner surface of each flange being flat and formedat an acute angle relative to said main body portion, only the endportions of the flanges engaging the door and the edge of the dooropening respectively, whereby to space the outer end of the main bodyportion a slight distance from the edge of the door to provide ayieldable cushion, the end of said strip spaced from said head having aplurality of transverse fold grooves therein to permit selective bendingof the last mentioned end around the edge of the door to fold against aface of doors of different thicknesses, said last mentioned end and saidone of said flanges forming a channel shaped door clamping element and alaterally extending, integral pointed tang formed on an intermediateportion of the face of said main body portion adapted to penetrate theedge of said door.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.117,686 Bonnell Nov. 21, 1939 1,259,117 McCormick Mar. 12, 19181,312,056 Shaw Aug. 5, 1919 1,865,766 Ketcham July 5, 1932 2,106,260Thumm Jan. 25, 1938 2,428,731 Abrams Oct. 7, 1947 2,662,620 Vojta Dec.15, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 389,894 Great Britain Mar. 30, 1933 202,814Switzerland May 1, 1939

